Inflatable ball



May 24, 1938. E. B. PETERS Y 2,118,325

INFLATABLE BALL Filed Maoh 2o, 1935 Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES INFLATABLE BALL Edward B. Peters, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Standard Sports Mfg. Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application March 20,

8 Claims.

The invention relates generally to inflatable balls and more particularly to a ball comprising a cover or casing enclosing a bladder, such as a football, basketball, or the like.

In a ball of this character, the cover is usually made of sections of leather or the like shaped so that, when the edges of the segments are sewn together, the spherical or ovoid shape of the ball is attained. Usually a part of one seam is left unsewn to provide an opening for the insertion and withdrawal of the bladder, a means such as a lacing being provided to close the opening after the bladder is inserted. At one time in the development of such balls, the bladder', which was usually made of rubber, was provided with a pro truding tubular stem of the same material positioned at the laced opening for inflation of the ball. In a later form of ball, the cover or casing was provided with a smaller opening spaced from the bladder insertion opening, and the bladder O was detachably attached to the cover at that point with a valve embodied in the attaching means so that the bladder could be inflated or deflated through the smaller opening. This construction thus permitted lacing up the bladder insertion opening before the ball was inflated, or as in some constructions, permitted a form of lacing or the like for the bladder insertion opening which automatically closed said opening upon inflation of the bladder.

It was the practice, however, in balls having the two openings through the cover to place the smaller or infiation opening intermediate the edges of one of the sections comprising the cover. .i This was done to avoid difficulties arising because "'J of the thick inturned edges of the seam joining two sections. But, in a ball having a cover comprising an even number of sections, as in the case of a football, the ball was thrown out of balance by so placing the inflation opening and the valve structure cooperating therewith, since the weight of the valve structure was not opposite that of the lacing. Moreover, in balls employing a fabric lining inside of a leather cover, as in the case of r the better grades of footballs, it was found that, by securing the valve structure to the lining and leather of the cover, the lining was thus secured to the leather intermediate the seams and was caused to rip because of the difference in stretch between the fabric and the lining, when the ball received a blow sucient to cause some distortion thereof.

The general object of the invention is therefore to provide, in an inflatable ball of the type having a cover comprising a plurality of sections,

1935, Serial No. 11,925

a valve structure adapted to be secured to the cover at a seam in such a manner that the means for so securing the valve structure occupies but 'ttle space within the cover and hence does not unduly distort the bladder.

It is also an object to provide a ball of the 5 foregoing character inwhich the inflationopening and the related valve structure are placed at the seam diametrically opposite the one having the bladder insertion opening in order to counterbalance the `weight of the lacing kor closure means.

Another object resides in providing a ball in which the valve structure is secured to the cover at a point spaced from the bladder insertion opening in such a manner that it leaves the lining free of any attachment to the cover proper except at the seams where the lining is normally attached.

A still further object is to provide an inatable ball in which the valve structure is attached to the cover by stitching but in such a manner that no stitching appears on the outer surface of the ball.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

4Figure l is an elevational view, on a reduced scale and partly in section, of a ball embodying the features o-f the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 2--2 -of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the outer surface of the ball.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a part of the structure shown in the foregoing figures.

Fig. `6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified form of construction.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises generally a cover made of a plurality of sections sewn together at their edges. Within the cover is a bladder, and to provide an opening for its insertion into the cover, a portion of one seam in the cover is left unsewn with means for closing this opening when the bla-dder is inflated. A valve structure for the bladder is provided with means for securing it to the cover at a point spaced from the bladder insertion opening. Said means is of such a nature that it is adapted to be placed at a seam in the cover and to iit snugly over the inturned edges of the cover material whereby the bladder is not unduly distorted. Thus, an opening through the cover to provide access to the valve structure for innation of the bladder is positioned at a seam. In a ball having a cover comprising an even number of sections, the valve structure may be placed at the seam diametrically opposite the seam having the bladder insertion opening. The valve structure thus counterbalances the means for. closing said opening so that the ball is well balanced.

Balls of this type often are provided with a lining of fabric which is secured to the cover proper at the seams therein, leaving the portions of the cover and lining between the seams relatively free. rIhus, when the ball receives a blow sufcient to distort it, the cover proper and lining may each stretch or yield to the extent permitted by the material thereof. By placing the valve structure at the seam, the relative yielding of the lining and cover proper is retained, the securing means for the valve structure being stitched to the cover only at the seam. Moreover, as shown in the preferred form of construction, the stitching from said securing means may extend through the inturned edges of the cover sections so that it does not appear on the outside of the ball. It thus avoids undue wear.

As shown in the drawing, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a cover made of a plurality of sections lll. Each section is so shaped that, when it is joined at its edges to the other sections, a ball of the proper shape is obtained. The sections are made of tough flexible material preferably leather. In the drawing, a football made in this manner is shown, and preferably the cover comprises four such sections. To secure the sections together, the edges of the sections are turned inwardly as at Il and are secured together as by stitching l2 through the inturned edges I! so that the stitching thus does not extend to the outer surface of the ball.

In the better grades of balls, the cover proper is provided with a lining i3 preferably of fabric which is cut in sections to conform to the sections li of the cover proper and secured to the sections l0 at the edges thereof. The lining and the cover proper are thus relatively free intermediate their edges so that each may stretch in its own manner when the ball receives a blowY suicient to distort it.

Within the cover is a bladder Hl preferably made of rubber and adapted to be inflated. To insert the bladder, an opening is provided, which in the present instance is formed by leaving a portion of one seam joining two sections of the cover unsewn. To close the opening when the bladder is inated, means is provided such as a lacing l5.

To permit inflation and deflation of the bladder, a valve structure indicated at It is secured to the bladder, in the present instance, by an inwardly turned tubular part ll on the bladder shaped to t tightly on the valve structure Hi. The valve structure is of the type which is adapted to be secured to the cover at a point spaced from the bladder insertion opening with a smaller opening through the cover to permit access to the valve structure.

I-Ieretofore, the valve structure and its opening through the cover have been placed at a point intermediate the edges of one of the sections lil of the cover. By so doing, the heavy inturned edges of the cover sections were avoided and the valve structure was attached to the cover at a point where the cover was relatively flat except for the spherical or ovoid form thereof. However, such an arrangement tended to throw the ball off balance because of the unbalanced weight of the valve structure and of the means for closing the bladder insertion opening. Another disadvantage was that by securing the valve structure to the cover at such a point, the lining also was necessarily secured to the cover proper at this point. This produced an undue stress on the lining when the ball was distorted by a blow, which often caused the lining to rip.

A further disadvantage, in case stitching was employed to secure the valve structure to the cover, was that the stitching extended through to the outer surface of the cover and hence was subjected to undue wear.

In the present instance, the valve structure is adapted to be secured to the cover at a seam therein, and the inflation opening, indicated at 2li, thus is placed at the seam. The opening 20 is preferably closed by a dust cap or plug 2l. To this end, the means for securing the valve structure in place is shaped to fit over the inturned edges H of the cover sections and occupies but little space within the cover. In this present instance, said means comprises a flexible member 22, such as rubber, having a channelshaped portion 23 dimensioned to fit snugly on and bridge the inturned edges Il of the cover sections. The channel-shaped portion 23 has substantial length longitudinally of the seam and is given a slightly arcuate shape to conform to the shape of the ball. The member 22 also has two relatively ilat portions 24 extending sidewardly from the channel and lying flatly against the cover on the respective sides of the seam. The fiat portions 2li together have a disk shape.

The preferred means for attaching the member 22 to the cover is by stitching it to the cover along the line of the seam. In the form shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the stitching is placed transversely through the inturned edges li and angle formed thereby, as shown at 25. The stitching thus does not extend through to the outer surface of the ball'and hence avoids the wear it would otherwise have. The stitching 25 also avoids tying the lining to the cover intermediate the edges of the sections so that the tendency of the lining to rip is avoided.

As mentioned above, one of the features of the invention is to place .the valve structure diametrically opposite the lacing I5 so that the two tend to counterbalance each other. In a ball having a cover made of an even number of sections, such as the football shown in Fig. l, a seam is diametrically opposite the lacing l5. Thus, by means of the present invention, the valve structure may be placed diametrically opposite the lacing to counterbalance it.

In the modied form shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the stitching, indicated at 26, for attaching the member 22 to the cover, extends outwardly through the cover on both sides of and adjacent the seam and extends along a line parallel to the seam. Preferably this stitching is placed in the angle formed by the inturne-d edges Il of the cover sections as shown in Fig. '7.

In use, the bladder is inserted into the cover though the opening in a seam for which the lacing l5 is provided, and is attached to the valve structure. The latter is secured to the cover by means of the member 22 which has portions 24 lying flat against the inner face of the cover. Between the portions 213 is the channel-shaped portion 23 which ts snugly over and bridges the 75 inturned edges ll of the sections of the cover. Thus, the valve structure is positioned at a seam in the cover in a manner which avoids any large bunch of material, and access thereto is had through the opening which is at the seam. The channel-shaped portion 23 is of substantial length and is arcuately shaped to conform to the contour of the ball. The stitching holds the member 22 firmly in place, and in the preferred form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 doe-s not extend to the outside of the ball where it would be subjected to wear.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided in an inflatable ball a valve structure and means for attaching it to the cover, which is secured to the cover at a seam joining two sections of the cover. The means for attaching the valve structure conforms substantially to the shape of the cover and its seam so that the bladder is not unduly distorted by said means. This construction also permits the valve structure to be placed diametrically opposite the means for clos-l ing the bladder insertion opening in the case of a ball such as a football, so that the ball is well balanced. In attaching the valve structure to the cover, the relative freedom between the lining and the cover proper is not interfered with. ThisA construction also permits the stitching for attaching the valve structure to the ball to lie wholly within the ball, thereby avoiding unnecessary wear on this stitching.

I claim as my invention:

l. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections stitched together at their edges, a bladder within said cover, and a valve structure for the bladder positioned at a seam joining two of said sections, said valve structure including a diskshaped member positioned against the inner surface of the cover and having a channel-shaped portion fitting snugly over the seam, said member being stitched to the cover along the line of said seam.

2. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections stitched together at their edges, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for the bladder and detachable therefrom, and means for permanently securing the valve structure to the cover at a seam joining two of said sections comprising a member having a channel-shaped portion fitting snugly over the seam, said member being secured to the cover.

3. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections having their edges turned inwardly and stitched together, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for the bladder, and a member for securing the valve structure to the cover and positioned against the inner surface of the cover, said member including a portion tting over the inturned edges of the sections and stitched to the cover in the angle formed by the inturned edges.

4. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections having their edges turned inwardly and stitched together, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for the bladder, and a flexible member for securing the valve structure to the cover, said member comprising relatively thin portions positioned against the inner surface of the cover on the respective sides of a seam joining two sections, and a channel-shaped part connecting said portions and providing a groove fitting over the inturned edges of the sections and having an arcuate form longitudinally thereof to conform to the shape of the ball, said member being secured to the respective sections.

5. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections having inturned edges stitched together, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for the bladder, and a member for securing the valve structure to the inside of the cover having a portion extending over the side faces of the inturned edges of two sections and `having substantial length longitudinally of the edges, said portion being sewn to said cover by stitches exten-ding through said inturned edges from side to side whereby said stitches lie entirely within the cover.

6. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections secured together at their edges, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for the bladder, and

a member for securing the valve structure tov the cover comprising portions positioned against the inner face of the cover and an intermediate part bridging the seam joining two sections, said portions being stitched to the cover on the respective sides of said seam along lines extending parallel to and adjacent said seam.

'7. An inflatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover comprising a plurality of sections of exible material each having a fabric lining, said sections being stitched together along their edges whereby said lining is free from said flexible material except at the edges of the sections, a bladder within said cover, a valve structure for said bladder, and a member for securing the valve structure to the cover, said member being shaped to t over the secured edges of two sections and being secured to the cover solely at said edges whereby the lining remains free of the flexible material of the cover except at the edges to avoid tearing the lining.

8. An inatable ball comprising, in combination, a cover having a seam projecting inwardly thereof, a bladder within said cover, and a valve structure detachably secured to the bladder and including means shaped to fit said stem at the inner surface of the cover to locate the valve structure and permanently secure it to the cover.

EDWARD B. PETERS. 

